“Gabriel!” Fingers shoved into his hair, pulling at his scalp. Her body shook, and her walls tightened and spasmed.
Fuck! He looked up at her, watching those plump limps part as she cried out and rode his fingers and lips. He was patient, but he wasn’t a saint. Reaching down, he slipped a hand into his pants and wrapped a hand around his cock. It didn’t take more than a couple of strokes before his come spurted out all over his fingers as he grunted in pleasure. Jesus. Mary. Joseph. And all the saints in heaven. If this was how it was going to be before he even got inside her, he might not survive the real thing.
Temperance whimpered as he slipped his fingers out of her. “Gabriel … did you …”
“Er, yeah.” Wiping his fingers on his pants, he got up and joined her on the couch, gathering her into his arms and cuddling her to him.
“Should I have … helped you?” she asked shyly.
He laughed. “Oh no, baby, I wanted you to enjoy the ride.” He kissed her hair. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. This was all about you, baby.”
She laid her cheek on his shoulder. “I’m sorry—”
“Stop.” He kissed her mouth. “We’ll go with your pace, okay? You don’t have to do anything you’re not ready for. I’ll wait.” Taking her hand, he kissed her knuckles. “I promise.”
“Thank you, Gabriel.”
“But, will you stay with me? Tonight?”
She seemed surprised. “You want me … to spend the night here?”
“Yes, unless you don’t want to.”
“I do!” She said it so quickly it warmed his insides. “I mean, yes.”
“Good. And I mean what I said. I’ll be patient. You take the time you need.”
Damn it, he would wait for her forever if that’s what it took. It would be worth it.
While Temperance agreed to spend the night at his place, she reminded him that they both had work early the next day, and he’d also need to take her back to her car which she realized they had left at the park. He said it wasn’t a problem as he had shown up to his shift at five anyway, and the timing worked out.
They cuddled on the couch, watched some TV, ordered pizza, and then put on a movie. By nine, Temperance was already fast asleep in his arms, so he took her to his room. She didn’t protest or even stir as he slipped her in between the sheets. His chest swelled up with pleasure seeing her there where she belonged—in his bed, in his den. Setting his alarm for three, he cuddled up behind her, nuzzling at her neck and taking in her scent before he fell asleep himself.
He knew his alarm would be going off soon, but he didn’t want it to. Didn’t want to leave this bed, didn’t want to leave Temperance or let her go. She was nestled so perfectly in his arms, their bodies fitting just right. When her hips shifted so her plump ass brushed against his cock, he groaned, feeling it stir. His damned dick reacted immediately, pushing up between her naked cheeks. God, he could smell her slicken, like her body instinctively knew and was readying itself for him. If he was a bastard, it could be so easy to coax her, part her legs and tease her until she begged for it.
But no, he wouldn’t do that to her. Not his mate. He would wait—
His lion’s ears perked up, and his entire body tensed. The hairs on the back of his neck rose as he heard a noise coming from the living room.
Temperance stirred. “Mmm, Gabriel?”
“Listen to me, okay?” he said in a calm voice. “I want you to stay in here. Do not leave this room under any circumstance.”
“What—”
“Stay quiet. I think someone’s broken in.” His heart thudded in his chest. “My phone’s on the nightstand. Get ready to call the police if you hear any screaming or gunshots. Then lock yourself in the closet.”
“What? Gabriel—”
“Please. Just do as I say.”
She swallowed audibly, but nodded.
Giving her a swift kiss, he rose from the bed, his muscles already tensing. His lion paced, ready to pounce at any moment. Some intruder had dared come into their den while his mate was here? There would be no mercy for this bastard.
Quiet as a cat, he crept out of the bedroom, pressing up against the walls as he followed the sounds of rustling. It was coming from his kitchen, so he crouched low. As a shifter, he could see in the dark so he had that advantage, unless the intruder was a shifter too. It didn’t matter anyway, because whoever it was, he’d better be prepared to take on Gabriel’s wrath.
His muscles coiled like a spring, then he pounced into the kitchen. “Who the fuck—Ginny?”
“What up, Simba?” she greeted, cocking her head to the side. Dressed in an all-black tracksuit, his sister sat cross-legged on top of the kitchen island.
“What the hell are you doing here?” he groaned.
“What the hell does it look I’m doing?” She nodded at the bowl of cereal in her lap, then spooned a mouthful, crunching noisily.
Gabriel slapped himself on the head mentally. He should have known. His sisters loved messing with him, Ginny especially. “I changed the locks.” Again.
She swallowed and then hopped off the countertop. “So?” Placing the bowl on the island, she turned around to face him. “How’s it going, little bro?”
“You’re only ten months older than me, Ginny,” he reminded her.
“Which still makes me older. And you the oops baby, right?” she said with a maniacal grin, then launched herself into his arms for a hug. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too, Gin.” He enfolded her in his arms, and they rubbed foreheads together in a sign of affection. “When did you get in?”
“A couple hours ago.”
“And from where?”
“Montenegro via Dubai.”
Ginny lived a nomadic life, moving from place to place, and never staying more than a few weeks. She claimed it was because she loved to travel and her lioness was restless, but Gabriel knew it was probably because she felt suffocated by living in a small town. He was envious of her freedom on some level, but could understand why she chose to live away: It was difficult to live under the shadows of their sisters.
“How long will you be staying?”
“I’m not sure yet. Actually, I’m here because of you.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. I heard some stuff about—”
“Gabriel?” came a voice from behind them. “Where are you? Is everything okay?”
Shit. Temperance. Stepping away from Ginny, he padded toward her in the darkness and reached out to grip her arms. “Yeah, it’s all good, baby.”
She sighed. “I was scared, but then I could hear you talking, what—” A yelp escaped her mouth as the lights suddenly turned on. Her eyes squeezed shut, then fluttered open.
“Oh. Oh, wow,” Ginny snorted. “Looks like I was interrupting.” Her gaze zeroed in on Temperance. “Hi there.”
Temperance tensed. “Gabriel? What’s going on? I thought you said someone broke in.”
“Someone did,” he said wryly. “Turns out it was Ginny. My sister.”
“Sister?” One hazel eye widened up at him.
“Ginerva Russel,” Ginny introduced. “But you can call me Ginny. And you are?”
“T-Temperance Pettigrew.” She remained stiff by his side, unmoving, the right side of her face carefully turned away from his sister.
His sister gave him the side-eye. “Makes sense now.”
He was about to ask what she meant, but Ginny gave him a look that said later. “Ginny’s visiting, from out of town,” he explained. “And so, she decided to drop by unexpectedly.”
“What Gabriel means is that I like to break into his place for fun,” Ginny corrected with a grin. “Sorry for disturbing you, Temperance.”
“It’s not … y-you didn’t,” she stammered. “Gabriel, it’s three a.m. I should get ready.”
“You go ahead, baby,” he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “The spare bathroom should have everything you need. We can leave in
half an hour.”
“All right.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Temperance,” Ginny called.
“Thanks. Nice to meet you too,” she said before disappearing into the hallway.
As soon as he heard the bedroom door close, he stalked to his sister. “Did Gen send you?”
“Did Gen—what the hell are you talking about, Gabriel?” Ginny planted her hands on her hips. “Why would Gen send me?”
“She’s been on my case lately,” he said. “About—”
“About you doing your family duty?” she finished.
“How did you know if you haven’t talked to her?” Gabriel pointed out.
“No, no,” Ginny said. “But I’ve heard some chatter on the grapevine, Gabriel. And it seems like the news is coming from one source: Vicky Woolworth.”
“Vicky?” he exclaimed. “What has that lunatic been saying?”
“What else?” Ginny grimaced distastefully. She hated Vicky as much as he did, as the other lioness had been jealous of his close relationship with his sister and did everything she could to drive a wedge between them. “Vicky’s been insinuating that her father and Gen are this close”—she placed her thumb and forefinger half an inch apart—“to brokering your marriage.”
“Fuck that shit!” He slammed his hands on the island counter. “I’d rather have my balls chopped off than be married to her.”
“Well, she’d probably do that eventually if you did marry her,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “That’s why I came back; to warn you and let you know I’m going to disown you if you ever married that cow.” She pointed her chin toward the hallway that led to the bedrooms. “And that? What’s going on there?” she asked, a brow raised. “I didn’t think you were the type to have sleepovers.”
“It’s not like that.” Uneasiness stirred in his stomach, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to hide the truth from his sister. “She’s mine, Gin.”
“Yours?”
“Mine … my mate.”
Ginny gaped. “Your mate?”
“Shhh!” He covered her mouth with his hand. “Temperance doesn’t know. She’s human.”
She ripped his hand away. “And when are you going to tell her?”
“I …” He blew out a breath. “I don’t know how. We only met for real a few days ago. She didn’t want anything to do with me at first. I couldn’t even get her to come here with me unless I kidnapped her gnome.”
“Kidnapped her gnome?”
“I’ll explain later,” he said. “But you can’t tell her.”
“Well, you better do it soon,” she said. “What are you going to do? About Gen and Vicky, I mean.”
A knot twisted in his stomach. “I’ll have to figure out what’s going on first.”
“And shut that lying bitch’s mouth,” Ginny added.
“Vicky tried to sabotage my first date with Temperance,” he said and gave her a quick version of what happened the night at the French restaurant. “And before that, she’d been blowing up my phone with DMs.”
“God, what a delusional bitch. What is she thinking? That if she repeated a lie and spread it around enough, it would become the truth?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “I’ve been dodging Gen’s calls for a while now.”
“But—surely she won’t make you marry anyone else if Temperance is your mate,” Ginny reasoned. “That would be cruel.”
“I hope not.” But he wouldn’t put it past Gen to make his life miserable until he agreed to her wishes. “I’ll figure it out, Gin. Listen, I gotta get Temperance to work and then head in for my shift. You need a place to crash while you’re in town?”
“Normally I wouldn’t say no to an offer from you,” she said with a laugh. “But I think you’re gonna need your privacy for a couple of days.”
“Thanks, Gin.” He kissed her on the cheek.
“I’ll wait here, and we can ride out together,” she said, walking over the sectional and plopping down on it.
Pushing all thoughts of Gen and Vicky from his mind for now, he headed to his bedroom to get ready. When he finished dressing, he swiped his phone from his bedside table, surprised to see that there were already several messages from Anders. “Geez, it’s not even four.” Opening the messages, he groaned as he read each one.
So, got that plane ready?
We can leave after your shift tonight. Jansen and Grover said they’d cover our shifts for us, but we need to return the favor next month.
Cannot wait for Vegas! It’s gonna be sick!
I’m gonna get so much cat emoji.
Hooked us up with some special party favors. Wink emoji.
The last message was simply the eggplant emoji, water droplet emoji, and peach emoji.
“Fuck me.” He had been so busy with Temperance, he forgot about the bachelor party. With the wedding happening next Saturday, this weekend was the only time they would be able to do it, which meant he had a couple of hours to get everything ready and somehow convince Damon to go along with it.
He could tell Anders to pound sand, but Gabriel wasn’t the type to back out on an agreement. Now he had to get in gear and plan a bachelor party that the groom didn’t want with the time he didn’t have.
This was going to be expensive party. But it wasn’t like he couldn’t afford it. If anything, he was more annoyed at the thought of being away from Temperance while their relationship was still developing. His lion, too, was not happy.
Don’t worry, buddy, I’ll figure something out, he said, trying to mollify his animal.
It chuffed at him and tilted its chin upwards in an annoyed gesture, as if saying, you better.
Chapter Eight
After finishing her shower in Gabriel’s luxurious guest bathroom, Temperance dressed in her freshly laundered clothes from the night before. As she put Gabriel’s shirt in the washing machine, she prayed silently that Rosie wouldn’t notice that she was wearing the same jeans and shirt from yesterday.
However, while the thought of last night made her go through all kinds of emotions and blush furiously, the one thing she didn’t feel was regret. Though they hadn’t done anything else after their encounter on the couch, it had been the most intimate she’d been with anyone since Tony. Her ex had been a good lover she supposed, though it was obvious in the waning weeks of their relationship he had been going through the motions. But Gabriel … he had all his attentions on her, and didn’t even ask for anything in return. It was refreshing, but at the same time, she didn’t know what to do.
With a deep sigh, she tiptoed out of the guest bedroom. Much to her surprise, Ginny was there, plopped down on the couch, TV remote in hand as she scrolled through the channels on Gabriel’s humungous flat-screen TV. Sensing she was there; Gabriel’s sister turned her head toward her.
“Hey, come and join me for a bit,” she said, waving her over.
Seeing as she had already caught her, Temperance couldn’t exactly backtrack to the bedroom and hide out there, despite desperately wanting to. So, she padded over. “Um, hey.”
Ginny’s gaze was welcoming as she sat, but then it flickered down to her cheek, and Temperance froze, realizing she’s forgotten to arrange her hair.
Meeting new people always made Temperance anxious, as they would either gawk at her scars or awkwardly tiptoe around them, pretending they didn’t exist. The worst were the pitying looks and those people who simply couldn’t stop themselves from asking about how she got them.
“It was a house fire,” she explained quickly, wanting to get this over with. “Happened when I was a teenager.”
However, when she gazed up into Ginny’s blue eyes, there was no pity there, nor did she turn away. There was curiosity of course, but Ginny also looked her straight in the eye with an understanding and acceptance Temperance had never experienced before.
“Oh,” she replied. “Gotcha. So, how long have you and Gabriel been—er, dating?”
The question—and Ginny’s general demean
or of acceptance of her deformity—had caught her off guard. “Er, we just met. Last night was kind of our … first date. Half date?”
“That’s my brother for you. If he can half-ass something, he’ll do it. But really, he’s a good guy. I hope you’ll give him a chance, even if he’s not much in the looks department,” she guffawed, her eyes rolling.
Temperance laughed at the joke. “Right. I have a really hard time keeping my eyes on him.”
“You should put a paper bag on his head. Us Russels are a bunch of hideous hags.” Ginny herself was just as good-looking as Gabriel, like a petite, feminized version of him, though her hair was strawberry blonde. “I can tell you one thing: he’s loyal through and through. You’ll never have to worry about him straying. When he commits to something, he’ll finish it.”
She bit her lip. It was a little too early to think about commitment, right?
“Did he tell you that he’s the youngest of six kids and the only boy?”
“I had no idea.” Actually, she realized that aside from not liking frogs and being a lion shifter and a ranger, she didn’t know anything about Gabriel.
“Growing up around us couldn’t have been easy; hell, I had a hard time myself,” she said. “But Gabriel, he took it all in stride. He got teased a lot when he was a kid, but he never once said anything bad about me or my siblings or our family out of loyalty. He’s the same with friends and girlfriends.” Ginny winced. “Sometimes to an extreme, even if it’s unhealthy for him. But family is important to him, and so are the people he loves.”
Temperance wasn’t sure why Ginny was looking at her funny, but the piercing blue gaze made her shift in her seat. “Uh, okay.”
“Are you all done—hey.” Gabriel walked into the living room, a blond brow arching at them. “Is Ginny telling you embarrassing stories about me?” he pouted at his sister.
“Like I would tell you if I did.” She winked at Temperance, making her giggle.
Blackstone Ranger Charmer Page 9